A Dragon's Warmth
by Soul The Mad King
Summary: Magnolia is facing a harsh winter where in, Lucy Heartfilia has become ill with a chill and it seems like a certain Fire Mage would be the one to warm her up. High levels of NaLu. Hints of other ships: Gruvia and GaLe. T rating to be sure.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello!**

 **It's very refreshing to begin another fanfic! So, let's start!**

* * *

The proud city of Magnolia was currently in the chilling grip of winter.

The grey spires of the cathedral were topped off with a thick layer of pure white snow. The citizens of Magnolia walked in several layers of furs imported from the northern plains of Fiore, where such weather was common place. Though no matter how many layers they piled up, the cold was a presence, waiting to snap and bite. Fortunately, the people of Magnolia aren't so easily swayed by a harsh winter; in fact, there has been more enthusiasm at the weather than resentment. There have been countless events, seasonal offers, general joyful happenings and massive preparations for the holiday season. All of which, Lucy Heartfilia, has unwillingly missed. When the worst of the winter season had yet to close in, Lucy noticed that she was sneezing, a sore throat every so often. Classic symptoms of a cold. She had brushed it off as a light winter cold that would disappear when she adjusted to the cold weather. She was lucky to have the foresight to do extra jobs and gather enough rent money to last her a couple weeks or more. She intended to spend those work-free-weeks with the other guild members instead of sniffling alone in her apartment.

A pale white hand with a light pink Fairy Tail insignia on the back reached from under the duvet cover for a nearby box of tissues. After a few seconds fumbling around, the marked hand slid back empty-handed.*

"Dammit," a weak voice started "out of tissues. Again."A pair of tired brown eyes peaked over the duvet and slowly scanned the room for another box. The eyes fixed on the supply of tissue boxes on the table. The short distance seemed like the length of Fiore to Lucy. Lucy pulled herself out of her bed to take on the tremendous task of getting more tissues. Seemingly an eternity later, Lucy was back into her bed with two new boxes. Only after pulling her body into a ball did she notice the fire in her fireplace had died out. Lucy was going to have to do without it as sleep was already pulling her mind into its embrace.

* * *

"Hey, Wendy, are you sure Lucy is alright?" The worried Dragon Slayer asked the other.

"I've done all I can Natsu-san, it's just up to her recovering now." The blue-haired Dragon Slayer said with equal concern.

"Well, can you like, make her recover faster?" Natsu leaned a bit further across the table at Wendy, with a curious face.

"I'm sorry, Natsu-san, but my magic-"Wendy's delicate voice was lost in the shout by yet another Dragon Slayer. "Well, well! Look at that! Big bad Salamander is crying over his poor little Blondie!" Gajeel's voice rang out through the guild, quickly followed by his signature laugh "Gi hi hi!"

"Shut it, iron shavings!" Natsu roared as the whole guild filled with laughter. Natsu and Gajeel were close exchanging fists when all the guild members decided hop onto the band wagon.

"Never realised you were such a wimp, Natsu." Laxus said backhandedly while walking towards the jobs board.

"Hahaha! You should see your face, Natsu!" Gray said while wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes.

"If you're a man, you wouldn't be so flustered!" Elfman chimed in.

Erza suddenly appeared next to Natsu with arm around his shoulder. "Well, _I_ think it's admirable that Natsu cares so much." Just as Natsu was going to respond, several other guild members start to egg him on. Cana, Levy, Freed, Mira, Evergreen, Juvia, Jet, Droy, Gajeel (again), Master Makarov, even Happy at one point. As all jokes built up, Natsu's blood began to boil and when Gray was about to utter one more jest, Natsu hit his limit.

"Ya' know what?! Screw you guys!" Natsu exploded like a volcano with rage and stormed out the guild. Natsu's loud footsteps left flickering embers in his angry wake. Everyone was frozen in place and stared at Natsu's shape fade into the snowy distance. Nobody said a single word, even the more composed members of the guild were taken aback. It was if the silence was covering their months. Then, Wendy's tiny voice broke the voice the silence.

"Um... I think you guys went too far..."

* * *

"Stupid bunch of idiots... Stupid ice freak... Stupid metal head..." Natsu murmured as he sulked down one of the snow laden streets of Magnolia. To the Dragon Slayer, it was as if winter was just a time where the trees died and snow fell. The cold wasn't a leering aspect of the season, thanks to his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. Natsu's ears twitched as he heard loud footsteps racing towards him from behind further down the street. He turned to see a figure running in his direction. He could tell with his heightened senses that he was calling his name and he wasn't like someone from the guild. The sprinting person turned out to be local boat owner who needed Natsu's help.

"Mister Dragneel sir!" His slightly hoarse voice called.

"What's up?" Natsu said in a flat tone.

"We need help with one of the waterways again! It's all frozen up, again."

Third time this week they needed his help, Natsu counted. It took about an hour to completely melt the ice along this certain waterway. After the job was done, the man thanked by Natsu giving him a few Jewels for helping them out. As Natsu scanned the area, he realised that he was on a familiar street of Magnolia. He instinctively turned and faced Lucy Heartfilia's house. It took a moment to see her pale face in the window, looking out at him with a happy, yet slightly worried, look in her eyes.

"Lucy!" He exclaimed in happiness at seeing her and also horror at seeing the state see was in.

Before the messy haired blond could react, the salmon haired mage was already half way up the stairs to her apartment.

* * *

Lucy couldn't sleep.

She had been staring blankly at the same piece of ceiling of two hours wishing for sleep. However, her wish had not been granted. Lucy had tried to fend off boredom by reading but it only caused her headaches. She tried summoning her Celestial spirits but they were of little use, so here she was, lying in bed sick and cold. Just when sleep was about to close her hazel eyes, she was snapped back to reality when she heard some commotion outside her apartment. She sat up with a huff and peered through her frosted window by her bed. She saw figures of men trying to break the ice with large ice picks or having pitiful attempts to melt it.

"Heh," Lucy chuckled to herself, "Natsu would melt that ice in an instant..." Just as the words left her mouth, the certain pink haired mage came bonding along into Lucy's vision.

"Speak of the devil. Well, speak of the _dragon_ really..." Lucy joked to herself again. Lucy continued to watch Natsu through her slightly frosted window as he quickly melted the ice that clogged up the waterways. A smile played across her face just from watching the monotony of Natsu's task. Lucy counted this as the third time this week she had seen Natsu do this type of work. Usually he would be needed at some other frozen waterway or building, or he would stroll back to the guild with Happy at this his shoulder. But today his gaze swept across the street with a disconcerting look about him, Lucy thought, almost aimless. Lucy pressed her nose up against the window, as if seeing the mage clearer would tell her of his troubles. Lucy felt a strange sense of urgency and fumbled for the latch which opened her window.

However, she was too late as Natsu's onyx eyes locked with hers. The next thing the blond knew was that Natsu exclaimed and bolted towards her apartment. The following second she heard footsteps careening up her stairs.

* * *

 **The first chapter done and over with! On to the second...**

 **Before you go, check out Yaushie's 'Lucy Heartfilia's Apartment Reference' on Devianart!**

 **art/Lucy-Heartfilia-s-Apartment-Reference-342608394**

 **It's a great guide for those of you writing Fairy Tail fanfics involving Lucy's apartment, helped me quite a bit! Show 'em show love!**

 ***I couldn't resist the urge to pun.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyo! Nice to see you again!**

 **Ya know, I had 27ish notification e-mails from Fanfiction about all of you following, favoriting and reviewing, so thank you** _ **very**_ **much. I'm glad to see so much enthusiasm for this story.**

* * *

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled with concern as he rudely barged into Lucy's apartment.

"Natsu!" Lucy said with a lining of scorn, "You're lucky I'm not naked or you'd be dead." She was wearing pajamas but still pulled her bed covers over her body as if she was. As flustered as she was, she couldn't deny her relief that he was here. Natsu ignored her and raced to the side of Lucy's bed with concern written all over his face.

"Lucy," Natsu repeated," You look terrible." He said with a straight face.

"Oh, thanks ' _Prince Charming'._ " Lucy said with a spent tone.

Natsu brushed off the joke like he does with everything that has a double meaning. Like the time when Team Natsu was on a mission to protect some big-wig merchant and the merchant's daughter tried to flirt with the oblivious Dragon Slayer. Lucy remembered that while travelling between cities they had to stop and make camp for the night and they would take turns to be on guard. Lucy had just finished shift on guard with Erza and they were making their way back into the big tent where the merchant and his daughter were staying, only to find that the vixen had forced Natsu to listen to her sweet words for half of the night. But, fortunately, her flattery fell on deft ears as Natsu was barely staying awake. So instead of Natsu and Gray on watch, it was now Gray and Happy. Rest ashore, Lucy gave the girl a good roasting over how she had wasted not only her Father's time but Fairy Tail's time as well. Normally, Lucy would have never been so harsh but for a reason beyond her knowledge, she had.

"Erm, Luce...?" Natsu's voice snapped Lucy's mind back to the present.

"Oh, what? Sorry." Lucy croaked. "So, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked, trying to get away from that moment of embarrassment.

"I was just in the area and those guys needed me to get rid of the ice everywhere." Natsu left out the whole episode at the guild on purpose. "And then I saw you in the window and you look pretty sick so I came to check on you."

"Aw, thanks Nastu." Lucy said with a bashfully voice even though Natsu's words had no grace to call its own.

Natsu had one eyebrow raised in an almost questioning look. "You're pretty weird, Luce."

"Oh, you're full of... _Achoo!"_ Lucy burst randomly causing Natsu to recoil back with surprise. "Uhh... Sorry, Natsu." Lucy then instinctively reached for the nearest box of tissues. As Lucy set herself on her bed, Natsu's face started to give a look of deep thought, like he was reaching for a thought at the bottom of his mind. He suddenly, but gently, put his right hand against Lucy's forehead. Lucy was stunned about the difference in temperature. Natsu's hand was like a fire lit on a floor of ice.

Suddenly, his face lit up and he snapped his fingers with success. Lucy half expected him to cry out "Eureka!" like one of those bygone scientists that are quoted by everyone under the sun. Instead of pulling that line, Natsu said something even stranger.

"You've got frosty-scales!"

...

"What?" Lucy looked as if he just spoke backwards.

"Frosty-scales." Natsu repeated. Then, it dawned on him. "Oh! That's what Igneel called it, you won't know that." He smiled to himself as if it was an inside joke with his Dragon-Dad.

Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples with her thin fingers. "You're pretty blunt Natsu. Okay, what on Earth-Land is 'frosty-scales'?"

"Well, it's when you've got a really bad cold and you're also super cold and the scales part is coz Igneel is a dragon. I had it once and that's how I know about, it was horrible!" Natsu was making over exaggerated hand motions while explaining this to his teammate.

"Surely he would name it 'frosty-skin' in your case, because you're a human." Lucy's vision was becoming hazy and she was letting her mouth run.

"Well, no, because he only ever had it himself as a dragon and not a human." Natsu was struggling to understand where Lucy was going with this. It was at that point where Lucy opened her to speak but fainted instead. Lucy was half way to hitting her bed when Natsu caught her hands regardless of the soft landing.

"Whoa Luce! What's the matter?!" Natsu panicked and gently shook Lucy to wake her, when he only got a whispered moan in response, he noticed her skeletal hands.

"Luce have you been eating?" Natsu hastily questioned her when she came around a minute later.

"Well... No because it makes me vomit..." Lucy all but groaned out.

"That's because you're been eating solids! You _need_ to eat soup or something, it helps you get better!" Natsu scolded Lucy like a child. Lucy need used all her strength to pull herself up and head towards her kitchen. But in reality, she had weakly motioned with her hand in the rough direction of the kitchen.

* * *

Lucy woke to an old, familiar smell.

It stirred up ancient memoires of her childhood. She remembers being ill and laying in bed all day. She had been fending off boredom with her mountain of books which was now reduced to small hill. She had asked about something to eat but it was the perfect storm of the cooks being off for some reason and Lucy only being able to consume liquids. Just when Lucy had begun to lose hope in a delirious state, her mother had graciously entered Lucy's dimly lit room with a steaming bowl of homemade soup in her silky, snow white, fingers. Regardless of her sickness at the time, it had been the best meal of her life.

Instead of her mother's fair face, Lucy saw Natsu's messing haired face look straight at her.

"Lucy, have this." Natsu held out a bowl of soup that looked spookily similar to her mother's home-made broth. Lucy took the bowl with nostalgia flowing through her veins. She stilled her shaking hands and eagerly took the small spoon from Natsu's left hand, without giving thought to how she pried it out of his calloused hand. She took her first sip from the wooden spoon and was greeted with a mix of similarities and differences. The general taste was roughly the same as her mother's but it had a few too many grains of salt in and it somehow tasted...spicy. Although, it could have be the high temperature. As Lucy felt the soup saturate the sponge that is her stomach, she felt more grounded in the world, the vivid colours, and fibres of her duvet and such.

"Hey Natsu, where did you learn to make this?" Lucy asked between sips large enough to be gulps.

"Igneel taught me. He didn't really make it for me, he had to show me. Because talons and all." Natsu then held both of his arms up and flexed his hands, as if trying to wake up his fingers in the morning. "Why'd you ask?"

Lucy couldn't help but snicker at him, which got her a funny look from the mage. "Well, that's weird. It's just that my mother made a soup almost exact as the one you cooked up."

"I guess that is kinda strange. Igneel never mentioned giving or gettin' the recipe from anyone like you or your mum, or I would have remembered." Then he gave his old faithful Dragneel smile. "I guess great parents think alike." He added the cherry on top of his little speech.

"Yeah, you're right." Lucy returned with her best smile. Then she cast her gaze down at her hands cradling the empty bowl of soup. She focused on her light pink Fairy Tail insignia on right hand as she talked. "I know that my mother always wanted to meet a dragon. She always told me how they are the wisest and most intelligent creatures to have a conversation with. Just then, I thought she actually had." Lucy could feel warm tears forming at the edges of her eyes. Then it hit her that she had just suddenly dragged Natsu into one of the most personal and private thing in her life. She quickly lifted her head to apologize to him but the sudden motion sent throbbing waves of pain from one ear to the other, causing her to pause for a second.

"Ya know, she might have done." Natsu said delicate tone. He had a warm glow in his onyx eyes.

"...what?"

Natsu was shifted onto bed and closer with his legs crossed. He got himself comfortable in his position and continued. Lucy put the vacant bowl to the side, pulled her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs around said legs. Lucy was aware how Natsu was taking this, maturely and intimately. She couldn't help but smile.

"Well, to start off with your mum was right about dragons." Natsu said with a measure of pride. "Secondly, it could have happened. The dragon version of that soup has a bunch of stronger ingredients that would make you or me super ill."

"But you're a Dragon Slayer." Lucy said a bit confused.

"Yeah but... Hm... Maybe I could have it in Dragon Force but we're getting off topic, Luce." Lucy noticed that Natsu gesticulate a lot as she watched him wave slightly above his head as he finished his sentence. It was a cute little quirk that she felt like only she knew. In reality, Lucy knew that someone like Ezra or Gray would already know that due to knowing each other for so long but that didn't take away from the feeling it gave her.

"What I'm trying to say is that making that soup for a human would be beyond him and he had to know somehow to tell him so he could show me. Also, I'm pretty sure that he spoke to a couple other humans while raising me." Natsu was tracing the seam of her duvet when he was finished.

"Thanks Natsu." Lucy's face played a sad smile. "I know it's just a shot in the dark," Natsu's face lit up with surprise, "No, it's okay, and I get it. I know you're not lying either but it made me feel better, so thanks." At first, Lucy was taken aback at how far Natsu went to comfort her only over an out-of-context mention of her mother. But then she realised it was Natsu. Natsu was the only person she knew who would do that for her.

* * *

 **Woop! Chapter two done! This took longer than I would have liked but hey-ho.**

 **Heh, maybe I should call this "A Dragon's** _ **Memories"**_ **instead, amiright? Just kidding but I really like the way this story is going.**

 **Well, see ya next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heyo and welcome to the third chapter!**

* * *

"Hey Mira! I'm gonna need another bottle of the purple stuff!" Natsu said impatiently the bar maid. As Mira took her time getting the requested bottle, Cana leaned over to Natsu with a half empty mug swinging in between her fingers.

"I didn't take you for a drinker, Natsu." She said with alcohol thick on her breathe.

"It's not for me, stupid; it's for Lucy's medicine." Natsu slightly recoiled from the heavy smell of liquor.

"Heh, tell me about it, booze is the best medicine." She then took a deep gulp from her mug. It looked like something that took practice, Natsu thought with a grimace.

"No, I need a couple spoonfuls to mix with-"Natsu was cut off by a group of Lucy's female friends (Natsu's words) who surrounded Natsu like vultures around a corpse. Lisanna was the first to pipe up.

"Hey Natsu, are you sure that drink isn't to keep Lucy woozy?" Lisanna said a bit out of character but it was the smirk across her lips that annoyed Natsu.

"Why would I do that? That doesn't even make-"Another voice started up, cutting Natsu off again.

"Maybe letting Natsu _take care_ of Lucy was a bad idea..!" An undertone of giggling followed suit.

"Hey! Lucy's has started to feel better super fast!" The group started to descend on the Dragon Slayer.

"Oh, I'm sure!"

"What does that mean-?" For the first time in his life, Natsu had a taste of claustrophobia.

"I guess we didn't know how to make Lucy _feel_ right, huh?" In the back of Natsu's mind, he was slowly piecing together what they were insinuating but a gut reaction didn't want him to.

"You guys can all back off! _I'm_ the one who knows what medicine she needs so if you ask me, you amateurs can go think about how you could have helped her!

Lisanna suddenly went serious and asked "What do you mean 'could have help'"? Her mind already making leaps to rash conclusions.

"I'm the now the soul carer for Luce, since you losers can't do anything but make lame jokes." Which Natsu didn't understand. Natsu then confidently walked right through the barrier of women like they were made of straw. Lisanna audibly 'phewed' and almost wiped sweat from her brow.

"Wait, what?!" It quickly snapped with the young mage but the Natsu had already left.

* * *

Natsu walked away from the guild with satisfaction as his definition. He would tell Lucy how he wiped the floor with Lisanna and Co. Well, maybe he shouldn't say that, she might get mad. Now that Natsu thought of the celestial mage more, he remembered his reason for going to the guild. The bottle! He forgot to get it from Mira! How could he have been so stupid? Natsu took out his anger on some nearby shrubbery and silently shouted curses to himself.

"Hey flame-brain! Forget this?" The unmistakeable voice of Gray reached his ears.

"Oh, what do you want, you stripper-"Natsu stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his sought after bottle in Gray's slender fingers.

"Ya know, you're really loud and it pained me to think of you being so dumb as to go back to Lucy's place empty-handed, so just take it before I change my mind."

Natsu quickly snatched it from the ice mage's hands and said with a sinister smile, "I guess I won't kick your ass today then, hehe..."

"Oh, I wouldn't push me today scale-face, not after I did such a kind act, right?" Gray returned the glare with that cold tone only he can do. Natsu's next act surprised the ice mage, instead of doing the classic Natsu sucker punch to the gut; he made quite a Lucy move and agreed with him. That's not to say there wasn't the usual Dragneel fire but still.

* * *

"Hey Luce, I'm back!" Natsu said as he unlocked the door to Lucy's apartment and entered. Natsu unknowingly smiled as he realised he could get used to saying that.

"I got the stuff for the medicine at the guild; you can trust Mira to have all kinds of stuff behind her counter. Oh, I ran into some of your friends while I was there and they wished you a good recovery," Natsu lied as he prepared the kitchen for another batch of 'Dragneel Soup' as Lucy jokingly named it, "and I was thinkin' we should try and get you out and up to the guild. Not to do a mission but to get you out-and-about coz-"

It suddenly struck Natsu that Lucy hadn't replied at all. He poked his head through the doorway to see a large lump under the covers of Lucy's bed.

"Lucy? Are you awake?" Natsu's ears went red at the thought of him talking to a sleeping Lucy. He peeked into the covers to see an uncontrollably shivering Lucy. Natsu instinctively threw back the covers with a whelp of surprise. Lucy had piled on extra blankets but she still looked disturbingly small due to pulling herself into such a tight ball.

"N-Natsu you...idiot put it-t b-back..." Lucy chattered out but the Dragon Slayer was already hastily pulling all Lucy's winter clothes from her neatly organised draws, sending the room into a storm of fabrics. Natsu replaced the covers and asked if this mountain of garments was any better. Lucy didn't reply so Natsu took it as a 'no'.

There have been very few times when Natsu Dragneel had fallen so far into the pit of panic.

"Ah, crap, if you're really cold then that means then you need to get warm or you'll die but the layers aren't working so what do I do, what do I do...?!" Natsu was pacing the room and furiously pulling at his hair as if the answer was hidden there in those thick salmon-coloured threads. "Come on think, think! What do I do Igneel? What would you say?"

Then, almost as if the old dragon was in the room, the solution popped into Natsu's head.

* * *

Lucy had a horrible dream that when Natsu had left, someone else was in her apartment. Lucy had a hard time putting it into words but it was like someone standing in the corner of the room but Lucy could only see them by the corner of her eye. She had heard of 'sleep paralysis' before but this seemed different. After what seemed like an eternity, Lucy woke up in her dream only to be greeted by the worst chill she had ever experienced. No matter what Lucy did, the cold wouldn't leave her body and then her legs started to go stiff with the cold and all see could do was curl up and wait to really wake up.

Lucky for the Celestial Spirit mage, she had and she felt the exact opposite of that frightful dream. Lucy was in such a state of euphoria and comfort that she had her eyes close and face pulled into a gleaming smile.

Little did she know, she was currently in the arms of a concerned Dragon Slayer.

"Um... Lucy?"

"Hm... Wha?"

"Are you okay?"

"...What are yo-!" Lucy couldn't finish her sentence as her eyes widened in surprise. All she could see was a white scale-like scarf snaking around both of them and covering most of Natsu's face with two deep onyx eyes peering over the top. Anyone else would have screamed at the top of their lungs but for Lucy, this was actually a normal occurrence. She has almost started thinking that Natsu sneaking into her bed at night was a sign of good luck. Were it anyone else, Natsu would have probably been kicked out and threatened to never come back by now but Natsu had a skill of escaping trouble when it came to Lucy. Then the blonde mage realised that the two of them had just been staring at each for a bit, so she hastily broke the silence.

"S-sorry, Natsu, you just took me by surprise, that's all." Her brown eyes darted to look at something other than his.

"Oh, no problem, Luce." Lucy could tell me smiled, even with his mouth cover by his signature scaly scarf.

...

It wasn't an awkward silence, but it was still a silence. Normally one of them would have something to say but not this time. They both opened their mouths at the same time to speak which caused a babble of words. After a few 'you first's, Lucy voiced her question.

"You said you were going to the guild this morning, so I was going to ask how everyone is."

"Oh, yeah, they're cool," Natsu said recalling the events from what felt like hours ago, "Levy and metal nose were off on a mission, (Lucy scoffed at this) Wendy and Erza got back from their mission super tired and stuff. Gray was just hangin' around." Natsu then leaned closer to Lucy and whispered, "I think he's start to enjoy the attention he gets from Juvia" as if it were a secret between school girls. Lucy smiled brightly and indulged in Nastu's cheerful way of speaking.

"Hey, Luce, do you remember when I got back from the guild?" Natsu suddenly asked after a long session of conversation.

"No, because I was asleep." Nastu gave her a look she didn't like, "...right?"

"You were freezing and I had to hold you for ages before you got warm again, don't you remember?" Natsu missing the blatant intimate nature of his words. Lucy would have normally picked up on this but she was too confused about what Natsu was saying. So her nightmare was real? She actually felt that freezing chill? It's didn't feel like it was real.

Lucy suddenly sat up and held a hand over her mouth in horror; a gasp escaped her mouth regardless.

Was that feeling of someone else in the room real as well?

* * *

 **Well, well! Here we are again. Enjoy this one? I hope so, hehe. I'm gonna try and make this story long but I don't want to start writing mindless drivel so I'll find a good balance. It's a bit late because my beta read has gone dark and I'm a tad impatient. (Yo Gily, you out there? (Also the reason if you see mistakes, I tried my best!))**

 **I also wanted to say that I absolutely love writing that bumbling idiot Natsu. (Maybe some homo, don't tell my girlfriend!)**

 **Leave a review if ya feel like it, give me some feedback.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back!**

 **As an explanation for where I have been, I completely lost a week of my Christmas holiday to an illness oddly similar to Lucy's in my own fanfic. High temperatures, spells of shivers, not being able to keep down my food and have to rely on fluids to keep me well. No bumbling Dragon Slayer though. However, I'm pretty normal now so I'm back at the keyboard!**

 **Anyway, let's dive in!**

* * *

Lucy was completely silent, staring into space with frightened eyes. How could someone unknown get in her apartment? The only people Lucy knew that have ever set foot in her place were her friends at Fairy Tail. Even Laxus at one point, believe it or not.

"Hey Lucy, something wrong?" Natsu looked at her with a rather adorable clueless face which surprisingly calmed Lucy down. It was probably a nightmare, something she imagined while in a sick induced sleep. Lucy's next train of thought was what to say to Natsu.

"Oh, u-um, I just realised that," Lucy's frantically looked for some explanation in the room. Her eyes locked on a pile of three books on her desk and lucky for her, the fourth book comes out today. The perfect answer. "...that a new book comes out today and I wanted to get it because the author is doing a signing today." Lucy held her breath. After a moment of thought, Natsu shrugged and bought her lie. Half lie. Lucy felt a tiny bit bad at the thought of lying to Natsu.

Natsu turned onto his stomach and plopped his head the pillow as if he owed it. "So... What's the book called?" Natsu said with interest.

Lucy was caught off guard for a moment. Does Natsu even read?

"It's called _The Hollow Crown_." Lucy said with a hint of hesitation.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and took care mumbling the words to himself, as if he was revising the words for a exam.

"And who made it?" He continued.

"Um, the author's name is Matthew Gray." Lucy almost blushed at Natsu's sudden interest. Natsu then pushed his self out of his laying position and ran a hand through his hair.

"And you go to that bookshop on Union Street, right?"

"Yes, but how did you know that?" Lucy was slow on the uptake today.

"Lucky guess," Natsu said with a limp wave of his hand as he stood and made his way for the door. "I'll be back soon."

"Natsu?! Where are you going?" Lucy distress made Natsu give a worried glance. He turned and gave her a small but bright smile.

"I'm gonna get your book, stupid." Natsu teased with enjoyment.

"What? Really?" At that moment, Natsu had just learned how to make her smile. "Wait a second! If that's the case then could you get these as well?" Lucy had produced a scrap of paper with a list of books and adjacent author names. At that moment, Natsu also learned that Lucy had a way of getting what she wanted, especially with him. Natsu sighed with a grin and took the list from her fragile fingers. As Lucy watched Natsu turn in the direction of the door, a horrible thought popped into her head.

What if someone got into her apartment while Natsu was gone? Or she got terribly cold like last time?

By reflex, Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand while his back was to her and asked him to wait. When Natsu only turned his head in response, Lucy tugged his arm to face her.

"Whoa, Luce! What's the matter?" Their bodies were suddenly close and Lucy could feel Natsu's heat radiating off him. Lucy struggled for the right words.

"Well, what if I like...freeze up like earlier?"

Natsu thought for a moment and then unexpectedly unravelled his precious scarf and wrapped it around Lucy. It was surprisingly light on Lucy's shoulders despite the length of the scarf.

"There! That should keep you nice and warm. Heh, not many people get to wear the very scarf given to me by Igneel!" Then Nastu added on a lower note. "Actually, you're the only other besides me to wear it. Anyway, I'll go get your books now, bye!" Nastu was purposely quick in delivering his goodbye and rushed out on his errand.

"The money is on my desk!"

"Oh, right!" Natsu quickly scanned the desk and saw the currency, grabbing it in haste. And then Natsu was on his way to the bookstore, fetching Lucy's requested novels. Lucy's eyes were still set on the door, almost expecting something from it. Then she sighed and slumped back into her covers, burying her head deep into the folds of Igneel's pale scarf. Her nose couldn't help but bathe in the rich smell that clung to its fabric. It wasn't a toxic smell of 'guy' that her many of her friends seem to think natural comes from the male population. It was a natural smell of spice and burning which was intoxicating, instead of stifling. Lucy couldn't tell you how long she simply lay there and revel in the scent. Lucy slowly opened her eyes (which she had closed while in euphoria) and felt carefully along the fine stitching of the garment. Lucy fondly remembered a mission client, who happened to be an excellent Seamstress that was positively enthralled with Natsu's treasured scarf. Oh, how she battered him with endless questions about the material, maker, technique, etc. Ultimately, she was left unsatisfied with his answers which wasn't that surprising for who she was asking. Now travelling down memory lane, Lucy revisited the times Nastu spoke about his scarf.

When Lucy recently joined Fairy Tail, she had asked where he got his scarf and after hearing his answer she was left doubtful. Natsu had told her that his father had created the scarf with magic only known to dragons. He had described the event as Igneel using magic to bind his goodwill and love for Nastu and some of his own scales into the finest scarf they had owned for winter time. The scales gave it the likeness to dragon scales and the power from his father gave it that 'good luck charm' properties. One last detail Natsu gave was that the original scarf had been a deep blue but the enchantment had caused it to turn white as snow. Lucy would hate to admit it but at the time, she still doubted that origin story. But over time, she began to believe the story as if she had witnessed it herself. Lucy sank even deeper into the strange scaly scarf and in turn, sank deeper into fond memories involving guild members. But mainly, Natsu.

* * *

Natsu idly looked at the list of books and authors again, tracing the graceful hand writing with his gaze. He expelled a sigh into the cold winter air, wispy tendrils of vapour escaping his mouth. He paid little attention to the cobbled streets he walked because he knew Magnolia so well that walking somewhere in the impressive city was simply an on rails experience. He soon arrived at the book store which Lucy was a patron to. For some reason Natsu felt the need psyche himself up before entering, as if he faced a difficult challenge inside the inviting store. He brushed the feeling aside and took a confident inside. His jaw almost hit the floor when he saw the endless lines of books in countless selves. In reality, it was a decently sized bookstore but Natsu felt like he was wondering aimlessly in an endless labyrinth. The spines of books started to blur and become impossibly hard to read.

"Oh, hello Natsu." Said a cherry voice which sounded familiar to the lost Dragon Slayer. He blinked once or twice and his eyes focused on a short bluenette standing in front of him.

"Huh? Oh, hey Levy." Natsu quickly tried to ditch the feeling of hopelessness from a few moments earlier.

"Never thought I'd see you in a place like this, anything you're looking for yourself?" Curiosity was having its way with the petite mage.

"Um, no, I'm getting books for Luce actually." He quickly glanced at the list to remind himself of the particular novels.

"Ah, how sweet of you!" Levy almost squealed which really freaked Natsu out for a moment. He really just wanted to get out of this situation as fast as possible. "Oh, do you need any help?" Levy continued with sparkling enthusiasm.

"Nah, I'm doing pretty well myself." Natsu said with an unconvincing smile. Levy's whole body language changed in an instant. She narrowed her eyes and stood on her toes to get as close to matching Natsu's height as she could. Natsu still had the advantage of height yet whatever the bluenette did, it worked. The confident Dragon Slayer was now suddenly quite squeamish under Levy's piercing gaze. "Oh, really? Well then, what book are you looking for? Ah, don't try and talk your way out of this, Natsu Dragneel, that may work on Lucy but not on me." Natsu looked about him and saw no escape from Levy.

"Er, I'm looking for," He glanced at the rap sheet of books which seemed a mile long now, " _The Hidden Alley._ "

"That's a mystery book." Levy said with surprising swiftness.

"Oh, yeah, so?"

"You're standing in the non-fiction section."

"...What's the difference?"

"Oh, my dear Lucy," Levy fell back onto her flat feet and exhaled a long sigh. "How do you do it, my bookish friend?" Levy had paused to collect her thoughts, then she straightened her back, put her hands on her hips and looked at Natsu with untamed determination. "You, Mister Dragneel are going to listen to my every word with every fibre of your being. The importance of this lesson rivals that of your training in Dragon Slayer Magic."

Natsu gulped.

Levy then proceeded to take Natsu on a full course of 'Book Basics' as Levy said. He learned the genres, classic stories, famous and not-so-famous authors and their specific writing style. Natsu was being transported from worlds of shady characters, grisly murders and intellectual detectives to worlds placed in the stars which were filled with wonder and exotic environments. He even found himself in places where the walls have eyes and ears, heroes are alone and afraid, the sun never seems to shine and where dead men have trouble staying dead. He was rooting for people who stood up and fought against the odds and cheered when they won and got depressed when they lost. Triple digits of page numbers were now his friends instead of looming challenges. In a single evening, the bookshop had changed from a place of insanity written in between the lines to a place of countless wonderful worlds Natsu had barely scratched the surface of. Levy watched in pride as he navigated the bookshop with decent ease (she only had to redirect him twice). Natsu was now carrying several novels of pretty decent size easily in his arms. Most were for Lucy but some were for him. As the two mages made their way to the last book, Natsu noticed a slightly sullen expression painted on Levy's face.

"Yo, Levy, what's the matter?"

Levy snapped out of her previous look with ease and replaced it with a fake smile. "Oh, what? Nothing! I'm just thinking about how much of my current book I've got left to read." The words fell from her mouth too quickly to be anything but natural. "Oh, _really_? What's really bothering you?" Natsu used his advantage of height this time.

"Fine, fine! You win. I kinda' wished that someone would go around for books like you did for me. I mean, Lucy has sought of already _snagged you_ for her book run." Natsu missed the double meaning.

"Oooh, you mean Metal-head-Gajeel!"

"Okay, Natsu, let's not _broadcast it to the whole of Magnolia!_ But...yes." Levy fidgeted in uncomfortable silence.

"You could just ask him." Natsu said blankly.

"To what?"

"Help you with the books, duh." Natsu gestured with his head at the pile in his hands. "And then maybe he'll do it again, the next time. Coz I know I'm doing this again, this was super fun!"

"Yes, well, while that's great news for you and Lucy, but I don't think Gajeel really likes books. I'm honestly surprised with you Natsu but he's just not like that." This time Natsu was the one sighing.

"Just do it to spend time with him. He's not that hard of a nut to crack, I mean, he's the one with iron shavings for brains." That awarded him with a punch to the arm. "Hey, I'm carrying books here!"

"I hope that wasn't your attempt at a tender moment!" Levy pouted and refused to look at Natsu. Their conversation ended as they reached the final book for Lucy. Like Lucy said, the author was doing a signing, so they left it till last. The line was at a lull so they quickly got a place in the line. Levy explained that she originally came to the bookstore to get a book signed herself but as we know, she introduced Natsu to the world of books beforehand. Natsu let Levy go first so he could see the process, which still seemed foreign to him. When Natsu turn arrived he was slightly anxious. The author known as 'Matthew Gray' was wearing a simple green shirt which matched nicely with his oak-brown hair which was slightly shaggy. He lifted his head from something on the table and Natsu could see that he was wearing thin framed glasses. He beamed as he greeted Natsu.

"Hi there! I'm Matthew, nice to meet you." He extended his hand to complete his greeting. Natsu shifted the books in his hands and extended his right hand to shake. During the handshake Matthew took notice of Natsu's Fairy Tail Insignia on his right shoulder.

"Oh, so you're a guild wizard then?" He asked with large interest. His voice was slightly high but smooth at the same time.

"Yeah, I am." Natsu said simply.

"And a Fairy Tail wizard nonetheless! I'm thinking of writing a story about a wizard guild next, much like your own." Natsu wasn't sure how to react to this; the guy didn't do this with Levy. Then Natsu remembered Levy's guild mark is her back, he wouldn't see it. Maybe Natsu should have thought of his guild's mark placement more at the time.

"Um, that's cool."

"Hm, salmon coloured hair, red guild mark on the right shoulder but no scarf... Are you by chance Natsu Dragneel?"

"Yeah, I am." Natsu just wanted the damn book.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" He almost jumped up from his chair. "Even my small hometown in the north has heard of you and your guild mates. Oh, oops! I got carried away there. Have you already got a book for signing?"

"Oh, shoot, I don't. Is that bad?"

"No, no! It fine we got copies here." He turned to a dwindling pile of books behind the table. He turned back swiftly with a book place in front of him and pen at the ready. "So, is it for yourself or someone else?"

"My friend, Lucy."

"Right... Oh, that must be Lucy Heartfilia, right? Another guild member, I'll just put Lucy. Huh, it's almost funny knowing that-"Before he could go on Natsu cut him off.

"Wait, that's not the right one." He pointed accusingly at the pages.

"...What do you mean? It's my latest one, The Hollow Crow." The author was totally confused. Did he want a previous book in the series?

"No, it's the right book but the..." He was lost for words. "...the material is wrong. The ones Lucy's got are like harder and made with a stiffer material."

"Ohh, you're talking about the hardbacks. Wow, I never guessed Lucy Heartfilia would be so dedicated but I'm sorry Mister Dragneel, we only have the paperback version on sale." He pushed his glasses back slightly almost avoiding eye contact.

"Well, you must have a hardback. If they cost extra, then I'll pay for it." Natsu said earnestly.

"That's very generous of you but we simply don't have any."

"Ah, come on man, you must-"This time Natsu was cut off. Matthew insisted that they didn't have any copies but Natsu begged to differ.

"Then why can I smell them?" Natsu smiled mischievously. He had caught him out.

"Wait, what? How can you...?" He must have suddenly remembered the heighted senses of Dragon Slayers. Matthew leaned closer to Natsu and kept his voice low. "Okay, you got me but I'm saving them for very special people in the publishing business and I would seriously rather those guys get those copies, understand?"

Natsu kept his cool, smiled and simply said: "I want just one hardback copy of The Hollow Crown signed 'To Lucy', _please_." Natsu lost his smile on the 'please'. Matthew stood his ground and didn't move. "Don't make me get it myself, because I will for Lucy." Matthew's posture seemed to cave in and he slowly retrieved the hardback. Just before his pen touched the paper, Natsu added: "And in your best hand-writing, please."

* * *

Both the Fairy Tail Mages stood outside the bookshop having paid and about to go their separate ways. Snow was starting to fall gently in the darkening sky. Before saying goodbye however, Levy asked Natsu a question.

"So, Natsu, did you just shake-down an author on your first book signing?"

* * *

 **There we have it! Chapter four! Way too late! Any mistakes let me know!**

 **Yeah, sorry about that but this chapter is almost 3,000 words without these author notes so that's a plus, I guess. I always kinda like the idea of Natsu being hopeless when trying to enter the world of reading. But I hope I kept that Dragneel fire with that scene at the end.**

 **Anyway, send feedback if you wish to.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I address my absences at the end~**_

* * *

The night started to set in over Magnolia. The skies are blanketed with thick white grey clouds, loaded with sparkling crystals of ice which slowly descended onto the cobbled streets. The air had turned unbearably cold; the only few who walked the cobbled streets were unfortunately caught off guard by the drop in temperature except for one. Natsu Dragneel walked through streets blissfully unaware to the snapping cold that drove everyone else into their homes. The streetlights battled the snow and the night to shine their golden light. A picturesque scene of winter surrounded Natsu and he would have found it breathtaking, if he had an eye for such things. Instead all he saw was that he would have to thaw out the waterway on Strawberry Street again, where Lucy lived. Natsu managed to manoeuvre his way up the buildings stairs and into Lucy's apartment using his own key. Lucy had given him a key because she would rather him using the door than her window. Natsu opened with familiarity.

"Yo Luce! I'm back." Natsu said still breathing a small cloud of vapour. The cold had stuck to him until he entered the cosy apartment. Lucy's head popped up from a mass of fabric on the bed. All she saw was the edges of his salmon hair poking out the sides of a pile of books covering his face. She heard his voice slightly muffled from the books, "Should I put them on the table?" As soon as they were out of his hands, he received a lung-crushing hug as thank you.

"Ack... Luce, I'm gonna fall..." Natsu pushed the words from his throat as their bodies were slightly leaning back. A split-second realisation from Lucy saved them from toppling into the rug-covered-wooden-floor. After the embrace, Lucy couldn't stop herself from going through the mass of books. Natsu watched her for a second, madly absorbing all the covers and blurbs. After a few chuckles escaped him, he moved towards the kitchen to prepare their third meal of the day like clockwork. Lucy noticed his form slip through the doorway into the kitchen and followed him but hung around in the doorway. "Hey, Natsu, don't tell me it's..."

"Yep, 'Dragneel Soup'!" He waved a wooden ladle as he set about his work. Lucy did a very over exaggerated slump and groan. "Ugh, come on, I've had that for ages now. Can't we have something else?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" Lucy pleaded the Dragon Slayer.

"Because I don't like it when you throw up."

"It's fine; I haven't done that it a couple of days." Lucy was touched by Natsu's concern. Natsu paused and turned to face her. "Do you think I'd let you have a normal meal just so you can puke it all back up again later?" Natsu had an earnest face with a faint smirk.

Lucy had been defeated in such a swift manner that all she could do was sigh. She started towards the books on the table but Natsu's voice stopped her.

"...But. I will let you put some spices in it. If that's any better." Lucy shuffled back into the kitchen next to Natsu, hiding her bashful face. "...I'll take that as a yes." The cooking began and Lucy didn't really process but she had a blast regardless. The weirdly fluent movements of the both of them moving across the kitchen, fetching ingredients, timing the heating of the soup, etc was a humorous and pleasant experience. Humour was just as present as ingredients. It was as if they were dancing a comical waltz in small apartment kitchen and the scarf wrapped around Lucy's shoulders made her feel just that little bit closer to Natsu.

* * *

Lucy was sitting on her bed with several books in her arms as Natsu clattered around in her kitchen after their enjoyable meal. She was excitedly taking in all the new books she had. Lucy was deciding which ones to read in what order, while occasionally getting distracted by the snowfall outside her frosted window. Although, there was something odd. "Hey, Natsu? Can you come here for a second?" Natsu was soon at the side of Lucy's newly made bed.

"I was going through the books you got," Lucy started, "and I've noticed some of them weren't on my list." Lucy didn't mean to sound vain or rude but she was placing her bets on Natsu's nature of being a dork sometimes.

Natsu's face lit up, "Oh, I got those for myself!"

...

"What?" Lucy was baffled. Did Natsu read? _At all?_

"I got them for myself," Natsu repeated slowly like speaking to a child, "are you sure you haven't hit your head or something?"

"Have _you_?"

"How rude." Natsu said unexpectedly, "I guess I won't tell you about Levy got me really into reading today at the bookstore." He huffed and turned his back on Lucy like an upset child.

Lucy then, quite literally, launched herself at Natsu. The one thing that Lucy had spent nights wishing that Natsu would do is become a reader and now it's a reality. Lucy had fantasised that it would be a storming night and Lucy would be curled up in a seat in a warm and aesthetically pleasing bookshop where the selves are spilling with books. Lucy would then sip a perfectly heated coffee that filled every single vein in her body with the most comfortable warmth ever. Then Natsu would stroll up with books in hand and snuggle up next to her and proceed to impress her with his knowledge of books and soon he would be leaning in close, their bodies touching, faces close and... Well, Lucy would be raspberry red if you knew the rest of that dream.

In reality, Natsu rolled around on the floor, laughing with tears in his eyes while Lucy battered him with questions so fast that Natsu couldn't answer them if he was trying. "Natsu, are you serious? I can't believe, I never thought this would happen, what did you read? What was your first book? Did Levy show you this one? You better not be lying or I'll-"

"I'm not! I'm not." Natsu reassured her and continued laughing.

* * *

Lucy now owed Levy several favours. Like, double-digits amount of favours. Maybe triple-digits. Lucy was the happiest she had ever been since joining Fairy Tail. To an outsider looking in, it just looked like a regular friend having something in common with another but it meant much more to Lucy. The only way to describe it is like your one true friend losing that one flaw and becoming perfect. Lucy was reliving that moment when she met Levy learned of her love of books but this time it was Natsu, which was arguably better. The entire evening was of them talking and discussing, of course Natsu was be dramatic and elated but it was surprisingly easy to get her point across and discuss with him. It was after hours of talking that Natsu looked outside the window and said: "Ya know, you should probably get some rest, do you some good."

"Oh come on, you're not my mum." Lucy said playfully.

"No, I'm not, your weird Luce." Natsu said nonchalantly but with same playfully undertone. "But you can read in bed I guess. That's a thing you do, right?" Lucy merely nods. As mentioned before, Lucy had no problem with Natsu sleeping in her bed with despite the weird looks and raised eyebrows, so when Natsu comical launched under the covers and started with the new concept of 'reading in bed', all Lucy could do was laugh.

Ten minutes in and Natsu was too tired.

"Ugh... My eyes are too fuzzy..."

"Go to sleep then you dork."

"But I want to reeeeead..." Lucy wouldn't get over him saying that for a while. All of Magnolia was as silent as the snowfall which buried it except for Natsu's tossing and turning before settling on the cover of Lucy's book, dimly light by a bedside lamp. "Can you read your book to me?"

"What do you mean?" Such a thing wasn't odd from Natsu.

"Just read aloud as you go as long, then you can still read your book and I get a book fix." Lucy couldn't resist the look he gave her. Lucy found enjoyment in reading to Natsu like that and he was a genially good listener and all interrupted twice. It seemed to have the effect of a lullaby on Natsu, which was oddly flattering. Just before he was lost into the folds of sleep, Natsu whispered:

"You have a nice voice...Luce..." Which was just plain sweet.

* * *

 **OH GOD I KNOW IM TERRIBLE PLEASE DON'T KILL ME I ACTUALLY HAVE EXAMS IN SUMMER OKAY IM REVISING ALL THE TIME AND I HATE I WISH I COULD BE WRITING BUT THEY ARE SUPER IMPORTANT AND IT DOESN'T HELP THAT I PROCRASTANTAT AND HAVE OTHER STUFF TO DO AGAIN IM SORRY AND NEXT CHAPTER I'LL DO SOME PLOT AND I HOPE THERE'S NO MISTAKES SORRY AGAIN THANK YOU FOR READING SORRY**

 **P.S I TOOK SO LONG COZ IM WORKING ON A RWBY ONE SHOT BECAUSE THE SEASON 3 FINAL ACTUALLY BROKE SOME OF MY HEART STRINGS**


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